


Rutting Season

by Sybbi



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, F/M, I was possessed when I wrote this, Lorenz clutches his pearls and then gets sad, One-Sided Attraction, Post-Time Skip, Spoilers for immediately after time skip, Vaginal Sex, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 22:08:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20239516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sybbi/pseuds/Sybbi
Summary: Lorenz just wanted to help restore the Garreg Mach Monastery to its former glory.What he gets is Claude helping himself to their beloved professor.





	Rutting Season

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't actually finished the game yet but I got past the time skip today and idk man. The spirit took me. I wrote this faster than anything in my life, so there might be mistakes and I'll probably look at this later and hate it, but here it is anyway. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe if I still feel like writing later I'll make a little something from Claude's POV leading up to this.

Lorenz was sure he'd never been so scandalized in all his life -- or more incensed with the Alliance's so-called "leader". But mixed in with his shock and undoubtedly righteous anger was also a hefty dose of confusion. Exactly how was one supposed to proceed in this situation?

_ I should have just stayed in the dining hall! _He cursed internally. Truly, ignorance was bliss.

He hadn't been particularly hungry during dinner, and despite wanting to spend as much time as possible with his old classmates, he hadn't been able to shake the thought of how much work lay ahead. It had been about a week or so since they'd reunited at the monastery, but the memories they were all so fond of sharing of the beautiful grounds and breathtaking facilities were currently just that -- memories.

The Imperial Army had not been kind when they ransacked the Garreg Mach Monastery, showing no reverence for the history these walls held. The grounds had been left in ruin. The library, dormitories and armory had been pilfered, everything of significant value either carried away to support Edelgard's war effort or destroyed. And what the soldiers hadn't taken, the thieves whom had been allowed to pick through the carnage in the five years since the invasion had.

For Lorenz, what was perhaps most disheartening was the state of the cathedral. Once an awe-inspiring sanctuary -- even for those who were less than devout at times, like him -- the church was now filled with rubble and debris. The magnificent organ that had once filled the air with music had been torn asunder, and the comforting smell of incense had long since been replaced by mildew and dust.

Yes, though the aid from the remaining Knights of Seiros would help things along faster, they all had a long way to go before the monastery would be returned to its former glory -- if that was even possible, given what they hoped to achieve. Using the ruined church as their base of operations would either be the key to their victory or their worst mistake.

With all that rattling around in his head, Lorenz had figured that rather than hanging about the dining hall and picking at his plate, he could get to work. What remained of the library's collection was something he could make some headway on organizing by himself -- the others were so preoccupied with catching up over their food that he hadn’t wanted to bother them by asking for help. Besides, it would be nice to have some quiet, he'd thought. He hadn't really had a moment to himself to properly process the remarkable events of the last few days.

Their professor was _ alive _. Alive and seemingly doing quite well, from the way she'd handled that band of marauders. How fitting it had been -- no quiet reunion for the Golden Deer, oh no. They'd found each other -- and the remarkable, mysterious, beautiful woman that had mentored them -- in the thick of battle.

_ What a time to be alive, _ he'd thought, climbing the steps up to the second floor of the main hall. _ And what a woman. _Despite the complicated situation at home with his father, who was torn between the Alliance and the heavy hand of the Empire, Byleth's return was a huge comfort. He wasn't sure how she did it, but somehow just her presence made Lorenz believe everything would be okay.

Claude’s schemes may well have managed scrape the resistance faction through the past five years, but with the professor by their side again?

_ We just might be able to pull off a miracle, _ he'd been thinking as he turned down the halls toward the library. But then something caught his attention. He stopped, frowning, and cast narrowed eyes down the hallway behind him. There were strange noises coming from the opposite direction, where the roundtable room and office would have been. Had an animal made its home up here after all these long years? He wouldn’t be surprised.

He listened closely, and he thought he heard what sounded like the scrape of wooden legs of some piece of furniture -- a table, or a chair perhaps -- against stone floors. Someone might’ve been muttering -- no, scratch that. Two, or maybe more, people were whispering or groaning over something, and there were unmistakable grunts of exertion. In the heyday of the monastery, it wouldn’t have been possible to make out a specific conversation, but now? With the abandoned tower so still, so devoid of life? It was easy to pinpoint the sound and source of a few human voices drifting through the empty halls. There was some other noise too, something that he could not quite place, but Lorenz felt he had a good grasp on the situation regardless.

_ More thieves. How foolish. _ Brow furrowing, Lorenz forgot about the library and headed for the noises, mindfully keeping his footsteps as quiet as he could. His frown deepened as he closed in, a positively poisonous expression flitting over his face. With so few of them to do the rounds, his fellows must have missed a few thieves hiding in the ruins of the monastery. And despite being surrounded by some of the most skilled knights and warriors in the land, the thieves must have been bound and determined to not leave empty-handed.

_ Their greed will be their doom_, he thought darkly. The noise seemed to be coming from the roundtable room, and as Lorenz made his silent approach, he wondered if he should give the poor souls a chance. He didn’t want any more death in the world than there already was. Maybe if he scared them enough and told them to leave, they’d run off with their tails between their legs and hopefully learn a lesson about the potential cost of thievery to their well-being.

“Claude- _ oh _!”

Lorenz blinked, his thoughts of punishing brigands forgotten, and he paused. _ Professor? _ But she sounded… well, she didn’t quite sound like herself. Not whiny, no -- the professor was anything but whiny, but maybe… vexed? Vexed and out of breath from the sound of it. And if she was being bothered _ yet again _ by Claude, he couldn’t blame her for her exasperation.

The resistance leader hadn’t been clingy per se, but he’d definitely been hovering around their old professor since her reappearance. That in itself wasn’t unusual, though. When Lorenz thought back to their school days, the two had always seemed a little close. It was inevitable that the house leader and house professor, who were so often required to work together, would end up with some sort of rapport, after all. It would’ve been stranger if they didn’t.

But Hilda had quietly pointed out to him recently that there seemed to be something more to Claude’s fondness, something beyond the regular relief and elation that many of them felt at seeing Byleth again after so long.

“When he’s not planning our next move or helping out around the monastery, he’s asking after her,” Hilda had whispered to him in a rather conspiratorial manner the other day when they’d passed Claude on his way to the dining hall. Byleth had apparently drawn kitchen duty, and Claude had told them with that characteristic smooth grin of his that he was on his way to see if she needed help “spicing” things up -- his lamentable idea of a joke. When their easy going leader had walked on, Hilda had rounded on Lorenz with an impish smile on her face. “There’s just gotta be something going on there! How much do you want to bet he’s secretly… you know… in _ loooove? _” She’d trailed off, waggling her eyebrows.

“Gambling is certainly no way for a noble to spend their time, Hilda,” he’d replied, a little sharper than he’d intended to. “And Claude and the professor are good friends, but I doubt there is anything between them. Claude values her as a mentor and ally, and the professor has always had a close working relationship with him. It’s natural that he would seek her out for advice, even now.”

He’d thought at the time that the bad taste in his mouth was simply from the subject of Claude rather than Hilda’s implication. There was no doubt the professor was fond of Claude, but Claude was nothing special to her, he’d reasoned; she was fond of all of them, and vice versa.

Such an elegant and wise woman might find Claude amusing, but there was no way she would ever entertain more serious feelings for someone as flippant as him. She was… well, Lorenz was no matchmaker, as much as he’d tried to be for himself in his younger years, but in his mind’s eye, she would do well with a partner just as sophisticated as her. He had a begrudging respect for Claude certainly, but Byleth would be better with someone more upfront and, well, noble-minded than Claude was ever likely to be.

Or, so he had thought.

Outside the roundtable chamber, Lorenz sighed quietly. Claude must have cornered Byleth again trying to occupy her time with some new antic or another. And, from the sound of Byleth’s voice, she must have been getting exasperated with it all by now. He could hear Claude murmuring something, and though Lorenz could tell she was trying to be quiet as well, the small gasp and groan he heard a moment later told him she’d probably had quite enough of whatever Claude was trying to pull.

Though it was always rude to interrupt, Lorenz felt very satisfied knowing he would get to rescue his dear professor from torment.

When he stepped into the doorway, however, his jaw slackened, mouth going dry, and it felt as if his eyes had blown out of his head.

In the roundtable chambers -- _ on top of _ the roundtable itself, no less -- Claude was rutting into their professor like a feral animal. Byleth was bent over the table, the cloak, shorts, lace leggings and underwear she usually wore cast aside on the ground. She was on the tips of her feet, her strong, creamy legs held straight even as her back dipped low in a beautiful angle. Her face lay against the table, partially obscured by her arms, but Lorenz could see her blissful expression, eyes clamped shut and lips hanging open ever so slightly as what he now recognized as soft, needy moans escaped her.

Behind her, a half-dressed Claude was bent over top of her, spreading fervent kisses up her clothed back and around her neck and ears, reciting husky whispers Lorenz was somewhat glad he couldn’t make out. One ungloved hand gripped Byleth’s hip like a vice, slamming her against him with each thrust, and the other had wrapped around her front, disappearing somewhere between her legs.

It was too much to process. Lorenz stood there, gaping like a fish above water before he backpedaled into the hall and flattened himself against the cool stone wall, trying to quiet his heavy breathing. The pair had been so engrossed in one another, it seemed, that they hadn’t noticed him. That was good. At least there was that. But what in the goddess’s name was he supposed to do now?!

A storm of thoughts and emotions was raging in his head, but when a particularly breathy whine from Byleth drifted out to him, his own desire temporarily sprang forth above everything else. He couldn’t help it! As much as he tried to emulate nobility to a T at every opportunity, he would be lying if he said he’d never noticed how attractive Byleth was. Especially now, when he was mature enough to realize that despite her commoner heritage, she was one of the most extraordinary people he’d ever met, or likely would ever meet. He appreciated her on a whole new level.

And the subtle, delicious sounds she was making now, _goddess help him_ \-- for a moment, all he could think of was what she would feel like wrapped around his cock while his hands explored those cushy thighs and hips, how soft and warm she’d be and the sounds she would make for _ him-- _

… But… those sounds _ weren’t _ for him. They were for that scoundrel Claude, who apparently thought it fine to desecrate her like this, even while their group had much larger things to worry about. Now was not the time for distractions, and what did that oaf do? He allowed himself to be distracted, and in turn had distracted their professor, when _ both _ of them had very important duties to attend to -- namely, a _ war! _

Lorenz’s desire was quickly washed over by a tidal wave of fury. Hands clenching, he ignored the painful drum of his heart in his chest, and the churning in his stomach. This was beyond inappropriate. It was downright improper, and he had to do something about it.

But… what?

He tried to will his legs to just move, to walk into the room and let them know they’d been caught. As irregular as Claude could be at times for a noble, even _ he _had some shame. Letting them know they’d been walked in on would immediately put a stop to this.

But Byleth’s breathing was getting a little louder now, the soft pants and mewls rising just so in volume and ardor, and when Claude’s name again fell from her lips, it was with such emotion -- such affection and love from the usually stoic professor -- that Lorenz was stilled. Why did the thought of stopping them -- of giving Claude an earful, particularly -- make him feel so guilty all of a sudden? Was it because he'd never heard the professor sound so... euphoric?

Along with Byleth’s moaning, the the quiet but obscene sound of their bodies slapping against one another picked up, and Lorenz felt like he could have hurled right there in the hallway when he heard Claude’s frenzied groans. Their troublesome leader, who so often hid his intentions behind an easy smile and joked off his true feelings, sounded just as heartfelt as the professor when he finally spoke clearly enough for Lorenz to understand.

“Don’t leave me again -- not ever again. Promise me,” came Claude’s breathless, vulnerable plea. “Promise.”

The professor’s response was a sudden high-pitched, wanton cry, ruined for Lorenz by the choked sound that followed from Claude. Then, aside from their harsh breathing, all fell quiet.

Allowing himself one final glance, Lorenz peeked through the door to see Claude slumping, draping his torso down over Byleth’s back. The man’s face was buried in her neck, his head bobbing ever so slightly as he continued to sprinkle soft kisses up her neck and around her jawline. Byleth had her eyes closed contentedly, a small, gut-wrenching smile gracing her lovely lips. As the two caught their breath, Lorenz eyed the hand Byleth had opened upward at some point, allowing Claude to tightly intertwine his fingers with hers.

“I promise,” he finally heard her whisper, and with that, Lorenz had seen enough. As silently as he’d found them, he stalked off. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he knew it wasn’t the library.

\---

What they’d done was improper at best, and unforgivably scandalous at worst, Lorenz had decided, but he was mostly furious with Claude -- such conduct was not becoming of the leader of the Alliance. Anybody with respect for noble ideals would have thought the same. Claude had always bucked expectations to some extent, for reasons Lorenz still could not fathom, but that stunt had been taking it too far.

If he was being truly honest with himself, Claude’s breach of conduct was not the main thing that had left him in a dark mood following the incident a few days ago, but…

Lorenz tapped a finger on his section of the round table, watching despondently as Byleth spoke about plans for the monastery and the town below but not really listening. She had made her choice, whether he was happy with it or not. And, as a true gentleman of noble birth, all he could do was respect her decision and move on.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t harangue Claude about it.

As the meeting came to a close and the remainder of the Golden Deer and Knights of Seiros began to file out, Lorenz caught Claude by the arm, pulling him aside.

“Claude? A moment, if you would.”

Claude’s brows lifted in surprise somewhat, but he nodded nonetheless.

“Oh. Sure, Lorenz. Be right there!”

Lorenz had to keep from rolling his eyes as Claude bid good-bye to the others in the group, especially when he softly told the professor to go on without him and the two shared a lingering look. When the room had cleared, Claude turned to him, head tilted ever so slightly and those green eyes giving him a calculating look.

“So, Lorenz. You okay? You’ve seemed a little down and distracted lately,” Claude started, waving a hand vaguely in the direction of Lorenz’s face. At that, Lorenz had to give a sardonic laugh.

“Distracted? Me? I’m not the one who’s been trailing after Professor, like a stag following a doe in season. I just wanted to tell you that if you _ must _ succumb to your baser desires, at least try to confine it to your bedrooms. I’m sure there are plenty of others with no wish to see the two of you humping, so at least _ try _to show some courtesy.”

It would take some time yet to move past all this, but as he brushed past Claude on his way out the door, Lorenz thought the image of Claude’s horrified face draining of color would help tide him over in the days to come.


End file.
